Heidi Bub

Heidi Bub Quick Links

At first glance, 29-year-old Heidi Bub looks like a typical suburban Tennessee housewife complete with southern drawl, but what a story she has to share. Born in Vietnam to an American father and a Vietnamese mother, she was one of thousands of children evacuated in the final days of the Vietnam war via Operation Babylift and put up for adoption in America. She was just seven years old. The wrenching Daughter From Danang follows Heidi on a return trip to Vietnam 22 years later, where she reunites with her birth mother and family, with surprising and harrowing results.

Accompanied by Tran Tuong Nhu, a Vietnamese-American journalist who acts as translator, Heidi, whose birth name was Mai Thi Hiep, seems eager to have the chance to discover her roots, especially since we discover her American childhood was no bed of roses and her adoptive mother advised her to forget her heritage in order to ensure a happy American life. Brainwashed by Oprah-esque pop psychology and the hope for "closure," Heidi can't wait for a few warm hugs from long-lost family members.